How do you share your faith? What do you tell people? Paul reasoned with people “from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. [He told them] ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah’” (Acts 17:2-3 NIV). We can do the same thing. We can walk people through the Scripture and show them that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant! Let’s take this journey together.
God promised David that his kingdom would be everlasting. “The word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: ‘Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling…Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth…The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom…He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever…Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” (2 Sam 7:4-16 NIV). Praise be to God!!
Let us continue the journey and see how the LORD confirms His promise. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line…This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’ For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel…This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them” (Jer 33:14-26 NIV). The LORD confirm the covenant through Isaiah. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD…Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist” (Isa 11:1-5 NIV). Praise be to God!!! He makes the covenant to David and then confirms it through the prophets, Jeremiah and Isaiah.
Now, it is time for the fulfillment. “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:26-33 NIV). You can trace the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham, our father of faith. “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers…Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David….Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah” (Matt 1:1-17 NIV). Praise be to God!!!
Let us listen to testimonies of people who believed Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. Two blind men knew that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, for they called Him “Son of David.” “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Matt 9:27 NIV). The Canaanite woman knew. “A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Matt 15:22 NIV). The crowd at the triumphal entry knew. “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matt 21:9 NIV). The blind beggar knew. “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ He called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ (Luke 18:35-39 NIV). Peter knew. “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it…David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.’” (Acts 2:29-36 NIV). Paul knew. “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ ‘From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised…‘Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent…Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. ‘We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ So it is also stated elsewhere: ‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ ‘Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. ‘Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you” (Acts 13:22-38 NIV). Jesus Christ is the Promised One who will reign forever. “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Ps 145:13 NIV). Praise be to God!!
“‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.’ The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life…He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus’” (Rev 22:16-20 NIV). To God be the glory!! Amen.
